Osbourne plans to keep Uptimum small, focused

FORMER MVP coach Shanikie Osbourne said she does not need a large team as she prepares her athletes for the National Championship at her recently formed track club, Uptimum Performance.

Osbourne has worked with several of Jamaica’s top athletes in the past under the umbrella of MVP Track Club. Now coaching on her own, she felt it was the right time to create a track club, focused in the way she wants.

With her coaching qualifications, she is confident about the next step in her career.

“I did coaching courses as well. So I did it because I’m coaching on my own. The mood is like a normal track club. People come here to train and work hard and to achieve their goals just the same.”

So far, Uptimum Performance is home to three athletes, including 400-metre specialists Candice McLeod and Delano Kennedy as well as sprinter Bryan Levell.

Osbourne maintains that she sees no problems with the size of her track club and is happy to be working with her current group as she believes that what is lacking in numbers is made up for in talent.

“I am only working with the athletes that I have right now,” she said.

“I am a very strict coach, and if you are not serious about improvement then Uptimum Performance is not for you. So we only take persons who are serious in trying to improve themselves. I don’t need a big track club. The fact is that the athletes will have to have the talent and the drive to do well.”

With the 2024 track season in its early stages, Uptimum Performance will not be targeting any specific track meets as according to Osbourne, the aim is for her athletes to be performing at the National Senior Athletics Championships.

With McLeod a two-time world medallist, and Kennedy and Levell making their professional debuts, Osbourne said the focus this season for the athletes is to have strong individual performances at the National Championships.

“We don’t target track meets. We prepare for the senior level, so we’re preparing for the national trials as well as the senior competitions coming up. We have three athletes that we’re working with, and these three athletes are the ones that are preparing for the national trials.”